Sunday, February 24, 2013

I am linking up with my friend Reagan at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. She is having a fun linky party called Hall Pass! Click on the button below to head on over to join in on the fun!

This sounds like fun! Here are the rules:

So here we go!

P is for Product! My favorite product by far are my monthly Common Core Writing Packs. I have one for every month and they have really changed the way we write in the classroom. I'm talking fun, engaging, authentic writing pieces all aligned to the Common Core Standards for Grades 1-4. The feedback on TPT is always really great! My latest pack can be found below, but don't worry, I have one for every month and I usually have the next month's posted by mid-month. You can expect April's to be posted by mid-March. I love them all! Check it out by clicking {HERE} or on the picture below.

A is for Area! My favorite area of my classroom, well, that's tough! I love the space in the front of my classroom that includes my board, alphabet, number line (courtesy of Amy Lemons), and my duct-tape-decorated white board. I think it's neat, appeals to the eye, and is a fun place to learn with my small group-table (lowered to the floor) right in front.

But I also like my Daily Five/CAFE board area.....

.....and my reading corner area. I love my Dollar Tree baskets. The blues and greens are a little more calming in this area than my brights everywhere else :)

S is for Signal! Oh, my most favorite signal to get students' attention in the blink of an eye is definitely using Whole-Brain Teaching techniques like CLASS-YES! If you want to know more about this awesome, awesome signal and more, visit their website to learn a TON! Also, just go to YouTube and search for whole-brain teaching and you'll find a ton of videos! Love it!

CLASSITY CLASS!

YESSITY YES!

S is for Sanity! Hmmmm, I have no other words....CAFFEINE! I am a major fan of Coca-Cola! They are stocked in my little mini-fridge under my desk. A Coke coupled with a teeny piece of chocolate out of my desk drawer and I'm good to go! :)

That's it! You can go link up with Reagan and share a little piece of you! I hope you all have had a blessed Sunday and have an even more blessed work week!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Let's talk about sub plans for a minute. Yuck, right? Well, due to some crazy, unforeseen circumstances, I have had several nights of crazy-rushed sub planning with little to no materials with me to gather and get ready for a last-minute sub. And it's happened not once, but several times in the past few weeks for me. Let me tell you about two little resources from sweet bloggy friends that have seriously saved me in these crazy times of chaotic sub planning.

Let me introduce....Katie King. You may know her as "Queen of the First Grade Jungle". Not only is she a super sweet friend, but she also makes these awesome monthly packs called The Busy Teacher's Best Friend. AND.....they're fabulous! Seriously. They can be used throughout the month for, not only sub plans, but time-fillers, fun activities, center work, practice pages, homework, morning work, you name it! I have used them for all of the above and more! They're so beautifully created and her layout and formatting is always top-notch. I can't say enough about how easy it is to just pull from these resource packs, especially in a time crunch, and have a wonderful set of printables right on hand. Several nights when I was unable to gather materials (as we usually do for a sub), I just directed a teacher-friend to the copies that I already had made of this pack and I had activities ready for reading, language/grammar, writing, and math. Awesome materials and such a life-saver for a busy teacher.... or a teacher who is desperately needing sub plans in the middle of the night :)

So go check out these awesome packs from her store by clicking {HERE} or check it out by clicking the picture below. You won't be disappointed! I went back and bought every single month after I found these!

Next up....another bloggy friend who has helped me out in a pinch blogs over at "Journey of a Substitute Teacher". She has an awesome pack that is perfect to use in a pinch or with a substitute (especially if it's unexpected like in my case). She has a set of Reading Activities for Any Book. I found that not only could they be used with picture books or read-alouds, but you can also use them with your reading series too so that you can stay right on track with your curriculum...even with a sub! The pack includes before-reading activities, during-reading activities, and after-reading activities. Best Part: They're aligned to the Common Core Standards! If you've been following me for a while, you know I am all about some standards-based activities :)

So, check out my friend's pack in her store by clicking {HERE} or check it out by clicking the picture below. I have a feeling know you will love them just as much as I do!

I LOVE to share quality resources when I find them and especially love to share them if the creators are super awesome people too! So head on over and check out these two ladies' blogs and stores and make sure to follow them while you're there!

Before I leave you, I will share my latest creation only because I have spent the ENTIRE day finishing up my March Common Core Writing Activities and TRYING to get them to upload to TPT (it was being very testy with me). I think you'll like these just as much as the other months! They're themed for March and will be a ton of fun for your kiddos, while still meeting the Common Core Standards for writing. I seriously posted them and within 3 minutes, had several purchases and that just makes my heart smile :) If you were one of those first people to purchase right after I posted about them on My Facebook Page, I give you a great big virtual hug and an even bigger THANK YOU! I'm not even kidding about my heart smiling...

Check them out in my store {HERE} or by clicking on the picture below.

You can pair them up with my March Math and Literacy Centers that I created last year also! They can be found {HERE} or by clicking on the picture below.

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